MEMORIAL OF POPE ST JOHN PAUL II OCTOBER 22-ANNIVERSARY OF THE INAUGURATION OF HIS PONTIFICATE
"Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ!" (JP II)
EARLY YEARS:
Karol Jozef Wojtyta was born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920.
His mother died when he was 8, his brother died after contracting scarlet fever and his father died in 1941 leaving Karol without immediate faily by the age of 20. These experiences of suffering helped him turn to and grow closer to God.
HIS YOUTH DURING WORLD WAR II
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Karol was studying at the University in Krakow.
He, therefore stopped his studies and worked in a quarry and later at a chemical factory.
Discerned his vocation to the priesthood and entered a clandestine seminary.
PRIESTHOOD AND BECOMING A BISHOP
Ordained a priest on November 1, 1946.
Became professor of ethics and philosophy.
Became auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1948, Archbishop of Krakow in 1964 and a cardinal in 1967.
ELECTION AS POPE (1978)
First non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first Polish pope in history.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AND OUR LADY OF FATIMA (1981)
May 13, 1981, was shot and seriously wounded in St Peter's Square.
This date was the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of FAtima in 1917.
He believed that Mother Mary had protected his life.
In 1983, he visited his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, in prison and personally forgave him. A powerful example of Christian mercy.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CHURCH
Promoted devotion to Divine Mercy and canonized St Faustina Kowalska in 2000.
Introduce the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary in 2002.
Promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992.
Emphasized the dignity of human life from conception until natural death.
Contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.
Taught extensively about family, marriage, love and the human person through his Theology of the Body.
LAST YEARS AND DEATH (2005)
Suffered from Parkinson's disease. He showed the world that human dignity does not depend upon physical strength, productivity or perfect health.
Dies on April 2, 2005 at the age of 84 on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.
Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on May 1, 2011. Canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014
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